I bet if I ask you to name some famous women in sports the names will most likely come from sports like swimming, tennis, volleyball, golf, or maybe some names from ice skating or the Olympics. I can tell you with certainty that no names come from any of the leagues above and that also includes the:
Arena Football League, American Basketball League, and even the new United Football League have no women players.
Even in college there only has been one female Katie Hnida made history as the first female kicker to score in Division I college football in 1995.
No female player has ever officially suited up for an NBA team, but the Indiana Pacers did invite UCLA standout Ann Meyers to attend their training camp for the 1979-80 seasons. She didn’t make the final squad, however.
There is no record of any female players in the American Basketball Association.
The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League gave over 600 women athletes the opportunity to play professional baseball and to play it at a level never before attained. The League operated from 1943 to 1954 and represents one of the most unique aspects of our nation’s baseball history.
While a woman has never played in an MLB regular season game, there was a woman who played in spring training and struck out Babe Ruth, and her name was Jackie Mitchell she also struck out Lou Gehrig, on 7 combined pitches.
In the NHL the answer to a woman playing In the regular season, no. However in pre-season:
Goaltender Manon Rheaume played one game in each of the 1992 and 1993 preseasons for the Tampa Bay Lightning. She was the goaltender for the women’s Canadian national team that won world championships in 1992 and 1994 and the silver medal at the 1998 Olympics.
In 2009 there are no women competing in the Sprint Cup or Nationwide Series. The Craftsman Truck Series has had a few female competitors in 2009 including Gabi Dicarlo, Michelle Theriault, Caitlin Shaw and Jennifer Jo Cobb. However none of these women have a full-time ride in the series.
Also many people are aware of one of the most famous women in Nascar: Danica Patrick.
While there has been some leagues formed in football like the Lingerie Football League that is an all exclusive league for women some would argue that they are more for appearances than playing but do not tell that to the women who play the game.
Women at one point got banned from fighting in the UFC a mixed marital art company that has come to major popularity over the past few years. However you do not see many women fighters.
However one fighter Gina Carano established herself as an elite-level draw. Her fights drew over a million new viewers each show, and she does incredible search numbers online.
Women’s boxing first appeared in the Olympic Games at a demonstration bout in 1902. For most of the 20th century, however, it was banned in most nations. Its revival was pioneered by the Swedish Amateur Boxing Association, which sanctioned events for women in 1988. The British Amateur Boxing Association sanctioned its first boxing competition for women in 1997.
Women’s boxing was not featured at the 2008 Olympics ; however, on 14 August 2009, it was announced that the International Olympic Committee’s Executive Board (EB) had approved the inclusion of women’s boxing for the Games in London in the 2012 Olympics .
During the 1970s, a popular female boxer named Cathy ‘Cat’ Davis came out of the United States Northwest, and a few of her fights were televised. To this day, she remains the only female boxer to appear on the cover of Ring Magazine .
There currently is a league called Women’s Football Alliance that is an all-women’s football league.
http://wfafootball.com/
Women have made an impact on all sports as well over the years and in American History and continue to fight for equality in the sports industry but in some leagues and sports the sign says: No women allowed still!
I would love to see an all-female team ,beat the current NFL champions and then what would the headlines say ?